From the Mighty 990 Broadcast Center, you're waking up in Starnes Country with Todd Starnes. And good morning, and welcome to the principal Toyota's Memphis Studios. Do not adjust your radio. This is not Todd Starnes, but this is John Covington, guest hosting for Todd. And I'm here along with the lovely Kristen New.
It's a new day here in Memphis. Oh, that is cute. Kristen New. That's cute. It took me 20 minutes to come up with this.
Good morning, Memphis. We are so happy you're here with us today. If you are listening in your car, we invite you to also listen throughout the day on your app. You can download that. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
You can participate in our conversation by commenting or calling into our A studio at the Principal Toyota Memphis Studios phone number is 901-260-5926. Where is Todd?
Well, you know, Todd is on a secret mission. But so when he knew he couldn't be here, he said, I need the smartest. best looking, most incisive, Amazing radio people, I can get. And he called them, and they were not available. And so he got us.
So we're here.
Sorry. And excited to be here. Just going to go ahead and apologize. We'll do better next time. But so no, we're here.
But we so. I said this is a new day here. This is a new day in Memphis and Shelby County. because I'm so excited. I'm not going to lie to you, over the past few years, You know, I fight the good fight for public safety for officers, but in my heart, I've had many dark nights when I just felt like, where's the hope?
You know, we're trending in the wrong direction. Today, we finally have hope. And we're going to be hearing probably in the next segment and talking about Stephen Miller came and gave a very arousing speech. And you know, I love Mister. That is well known.
He, in fact, he got out of town quick, I said, Kristen Newt. You know what? I asked Todd last night. I was texting him and I said, where? Are they having dinner?
I would love to just show up. And he was like, I don't think that's a good idea. Actually, he ghosted me after that. He didn't even answer me. It's like he doesn't know me.
But I did want to kind of stalk Stephen Miller. You know, and just just kind of just see if I could maybe get an autograph. Autograph, right? I have a little bit of fanning over at. having some special guests here in Memphis.
Well, no, it's very exciting. But in the midst of all this and the excitement, I don't want to lose sight that the people that really are the most important are these citizens who have been suffering. You know, we can have all these political arguments and blah, blah, blah. But in the brute Base of it is citizens are suffering. And so, you know, Brent Taylor was in Washington Tuesday, and he was.
In front of a committee up there, congressional committee, and talking about blue cities and crime and what the Trump administration is doing to address this crisis. And I have a clip here: it's a grandmother who lost her grandson. It's a little long, it's about three minutes or so, a little bit over, but I think it's worth hearing the whole thing because I choked up when I heard it because it is so reflective of so many stories that I hear here in Memphis.
So, Cassie, if you could play clip one, and let's just listen to this grandmother and her grief. Thank you, Chairman Grassley and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee for having me today. My name is Felicia Cook. I'm a lifelong Washingtonian. My grandson, Marty William Macmillan Jr.
was tragically murdered in Washington, DC. Oh. On April 23rd, 2017, Marty was my firstborn grandson. We were very close. My world turned upside down today.
He died. The bottom line is that murder in DC is treated as a joke when it comes time to justice. The bar My money killer received only maybe 16 years. which will likely be served concurrently with the time he was already serving for the charge of guns and drugs. And told he may end up doing just 10 years in an actual jail.
And five of those may be Probation. How can it be? This must change! We need to stop killing killers being uh sentenced with minimum time, allowing them to come back on the on uh come back out and potentially kill someone else. This is wrong.
Someone needs to change these laws. I don't care who makes the changes. It needs to happen. I'm simply asking for someone to do the right thing, please. I don't know.
if anybody can listen to that and not be moved. To hear that pain in her voice and that feeling of helplessness. And Kristen, I'm not going to lie to you, over the last couple of years, many nights I felt that sense of helplessness. Knowing how many our citizens are suffering. And they get they're getting no justice.
Exactly. And they are pleading to the people who have the ability to make it happen. And they are doing nothing to help these people. I have fortunately never had the pain of losing a child, but I have had the experience of speaking in front of a board, and they look at you like you do not speak English. They give you your allotted three minutes, and then nothing changes.
And you just feel like there is nowhere else to go if you're pleading to the people at the top, and the people at the top. or ignoring you. That's right. And she talked about this person who killed her grandson was maybe looking at ultimately just five years. And of course, we deal with that here.
Unbelievable. You know, the breakdown and holding people accountable. And you hear her just crying out, I want to be heard. I want justice. And so what What's a nicer word than the one that went through my?
What bothers me is that all these politicians, Democrats, who got out and the fear-mongering and speaking for people whose lives they aren't not living, many of them lived in their gated communities and they don't deal with the crime and hear the gunshots every day. And they think they can speak for people who are out there hurting and suffering, like Ms. Cook, we were talking to. And this is going to really gall people, but I want you to play the second clip. Because Miss Cook thanks guess who?
President Trump for finally doing something, the man who's being torn down and attacked. and people trying to scare everybody about all this help coming in. Listen to Ms. Cook thank President Trump. And I think you'll understand how important what he is doing is.
I'm grateful for President Trump, and I am. I don't know. For here my voice He's doing something to make this thing safe. I can told, I can. See the total difference since President Trump has been focusing on DC.
I'm more comfortable being here. I feel safer here. I know Of this due to. I do. I do.
Thank you for listening. And it took this administration this to address and have me heard, allow me to be heard. I appreciate thanking and everyone that took the time to hear me because no one heard me before. I did rallies and marches. I stood in the farm of justice.
I went to see Mayor Bowser. I asked him to help. And my family did not get justice and nobody heard me until now. Thank you, President Trump. Thank you.
You know, they've had their chance, and that's what she's saying. I have given you every opportunity to make this right, and you have not done that.
So don't get mad when President Trump comes into these cities and cleans it up because you failed leadership. And then and as I said, this the condescending way I watched that Democratic press conference. Of just speaking for people who, you know, acting like, oh, this is going to be an occupation, oh, this is dangerous. And then you hear the voice of somebody on the front lines who is a victim, because that is who the victims are. You know, they talk about, well, you know, we want to do all these programs and different things for these under-provoked.
That is who is getting. Pounded by crime. That's right. And they are more concerned about the people who commit the crime, their rights, than they are about the rights of the people who are victims. And then you end up losing your rights as a victim when they let the criminals out.
And then the criminals go on to commit more crimes. It's not like they've suddenly seen the light and they've decided, I'm just going to lead a straight life after this. They're not. They're not, and then it just compounds the situation. I was actually on a jury duty at this time last year, and it was a murder case.
And the guy murdered his girlfriend. And he was out. He was out on bond. You should have been in prison.
Well, you know, it the When Officer McKinney lost his life, the person responsible for that should have been in prison. And what happens? They get out and commit more crime. And it just, it's just, it spirals. And then you feel like Ms.
Cook. You're crying for help, and nobody's listening. And so, I just want everybody who's been opposed to the National Guard, I hope, will listen to. Her words, or listen, or actually talk to people in the city who just want to be safe. They just want to live their lives.
They want their kids to be able to go out and play. They want to go to the store. They want to go to church. They're not allowed to do that because they're talking about an occupation. They're being occupied by criminals.
Yes, yes. And they're taking away your God-given rights to just live in the city that you are occupying.
So I don't understand how anybody could be against the National Guard. If you are, we invite you to call in and maybe help us understand. Why would you be against help? Exactly right. You know, and I've talked about this before.
You know, I used to be a teacher before I became a police officer.
So I was really in the trenches. Oh, I was a teacher too. You know, you know. But one of the things I always talk about is if whenever we had a prom, guess what? We didn't just have three teachers assigned because I don't care how good.
And I was at St. George's. Those kids were great. I was at Cairville. Those kids were wonderful.
But if there's only been three of us at prom, I got to make sure those hands are up where they're supposed to be. I got to make sure nothing's going on in the parking lot. I got to make sure nothing's in the punch bowl because kids are kids. And we owed that to them to bring a force multiplier of every coach, every teacher there to make sure they were safe and making good choices. That is what the National Guard is here, making sure we're safe, making sure some are making good choices.
And you know And it will save lives. It will save lives. And, you know, as I say, I just wanted to make sure we were focusing. On, I know, you know, we're excited, and we talk about this is going to bring change, and it's good, but the reality is it's people like Ms. Yeah.
is going to be heard, going to have justice in People will not die. I mean, we're going to be. Say for the first time in a long time. You know, the low is kind of the bar has kind of been set low, like you said. Like, all we can do is go up from here.
That's right. That's right. Well, here we are. We've made it through the first segment, but I did want to make it focus on the victims, and we're going to be moving forward talking about some exciting things happening.
So, Kristen, if you want to take us out to the break and give Commander Chuck a shout out. All right.
Well, we are going to take a quick break.
So, we're going to check in with our local traffic with Commander Chuck on KWAM. And welcome back to the Principal Toyota Memphis Studio. You're listening to Starns Country on K-Wham. It's John and Kristen filling in for Todd. Speaking of Todd, we found him.
We found him. We found him. He's on the phone. I'm trying to take down my posters that I put out this morning. That's right.
Have you seen this man? Todd? Good to hear from you. What do you have to say, my friend? Guys.
Good morning. I'm actually in Collierville this morning at Booyah's. And we were here for the inaugural gathering of the Collierville High School. Turning Point USA chapter. Oh, wonderful.
Right. 6.30 this morning, guys. 6.30 this morning. We had 60 kids. Out here, it's all piled.
to Bouillaz for just a great, great morning of conversation. That is awesome. I was so happy to hear that. You know, one of the things that we really promised folks at the rallies and the vigils that we spoke at was that we wanted to be the voice for the conservative young people of the Mid-South. And so they reached out and invited me to speak this morning, and just some incredibly bright kids who are just so excited and passionate about their country.
And that was really exciting to see this morning. And one of the things that we're going to be doing at K-WAN is launching a one-hour radio show that is hosted by conservative kids for K-WAN. conservative kids. And we're going to be passing on more information. But we had about a A half a dozen or so students.
That signed up and said they want to be a part of the project from Coyerville High School. Oh, that's awesome. You know, I am from Coyerville. I taught at Carrierville High School.
So I know that they have a great group of kids out there, truly patriots. Coyerville is deep red country.
So I am so glad that you are working with those kids and getting them plugged in, Todd, because that is our future. And that is what we have to start doing as leaders of this community.
Well, we said it's a new day in Memphis and Shelby County with the National Guard. It's a new day in Memphis and Shelby County with things like that. The young people getting involved, it gives us real hope for the future. You know guys, I was running late and I was trying to get behind the Dodge Charger. To get here on time.
Don't do it. Don't do it. That's a bad idea. Ran into the THP and I may need some new brake pads. Even I did the speed limit this morning.
I'm telling you, I told my husband: no speeding to the airport anymore. Those things are over. Hey guys, and also tell Cassie that the the high school kids They're providing Chick-fil-A breakfast for the station this morning as well. All right, welcome back. You know, the good news just keeps flowing.
I love it. We'll let you back in, Todd. We won't walk you out now. Thanks, guys. Thank you, Todd.
Thank you. Well, thank God Todd's okay. We've heard from him. He's out there doing the Lord's work. Today's eating booyahs and Chick-fil-A.
Okay, I'm not worried about Todd anymore. All right.
So well, the phone lines have lit up. You know, of course, with the best laid plans, we've got everything scripted, but we throw it out the door, out the window, and we want to hear from our listeners.
So, Cassie, who we got next? We've lost Cassie. She's been Kidnapped. Yeah. Okay, so we got Dean on the line.
Dean, uh what's on your mind this morning? Good morning, John. And Kristen, how y'all doing? Hey, Dean. Doing well.
Oh Oh, I guess it was about ten 10.20 last night, I was sitting here and I looked at Melanie and I said, Do you hear that? And she goes, Hear what? I said, Yeah. It's quiet. No gunshots?
Yeah. Well No, I didn't hear any gunshots either. We're we're And East Miff is not too far from the station there.
Okay, good, good. Between White Station and Mendenhall. But normally somewhere between six ten thirty and eleven o'clock at night. You hear all the the racing and uh Mm-hmm. all that kind of stuff.
I mean, it's a it's a nightly deal. And I don't know when I noticed it, but we stepped outside about ten, like I said, about ten twenty. And it was just normal. Highway traffic. I mean no no you know, no racing or anything like that.
So Obviously, they're enforceable. Because I had a question about those PHPs stop at a certain time Or do they roll all night? No, they roll all night. And Dean, you brought up something. I've always said, what is the brand in Bartlett?
You don't speed. We all get it. But what's the brand been in Memphis and Shelby County?
Well, the brand is you can do whatever you want. That changed this morning and changed last night, or changed as soon as all because, as I said, I was half joking, but I really was focused on making sure I stayed the speed limit because now I feel like, okay, the There's eyes out there, there's a lot of focus, and I think a lot of people are feeling that. And just another example is you didn't hear that racing last night. And that's why I love that they're going on national or local TV, but also national TV. Fox has been picking it up, and they're telling you exactly what's going to happen.
Nobody is going to miss that memo. Everybody has gotten the message. We're cleaning it up. Absolutely. And, Dean, thanks for calling in.
We got just a couple of minutes left. I want to get Lisa Arnold in real quick. Lisa, Uh Tommy, what are you thinking? What's on your mind?
Well, good morning. How are y'all doing? Haley. Doing great. Great to hear from you.
Well, I just thought I'd call and uh give you all like a little fun fact with what's going on with my job. Um The calls that I've been getting the last week or so, the last few days. Since a nice since everybody's here. Remember when Mulroy was doing the Revolving Door and releasing everyone R.O.R.? Oh, yeah, I can't forget it.
Well, now I would say 75 to 80 percent of the calls and bonds. that I'm getting calls on now. are people that have been stopped and What do you know, those bench warrants where they didn't go back to court on those ROR bonds? They're picking those warrants up like crazy. That is such a good point that they're finally getting these guys on traffic stops, but they have warrants.
And the warrants were from the cashless bail stuff. There you go. Oh, what a shock. What a shock. And so, yeah, you and Dean are showing, they've only been here a few days, and already on the ground level, we're feeling it.
The change, as I said, it's a new day in Memphis and Shelby County. We got about 30 seconds left. Any last thought there, Lisa?
Well why Last night at work, for once, I actually felt safe working in the middle of the night because there were highway patrolmen. Police officers that were Shelby County. All out in front of the office going up and down Popper, where normally I have people flying down Popper shooting guns, doing donuts.
Well, that's fantastic. Lee said that's what we want to hear. We're coming up on our break. We're going to hit that. We're going to be right back.
But thank you so much for calling in. That is great news. See y'all later. Thanks, Lisa. Oh, well, we actually have a couple more minutes or a couple more seconds.
You know, Kristen, you're supposed to keep it.
So that's a lot of hope in the voices of both Dean and Lisa. Dean is seeing that there's quietness. There's not people drag racing in the streets or doing donuts. But Lisa working downtown, she's actually seeing sad first time. She's seeing cops out and she's hearing the helicopters and she's happy about it.
I know. Thank God. Doesn't that just raise your heart? And if Miss Cook in Washington, D.C. could hear just the little bit we're hearing this morning, I know her heart would be raised as well.
Right. Knowing Memphis is enjoying the change that she saw.
Well, stay tuned. We'll be right back. We're coming up on our next break, but we got a lot more to talk about. And welcome back to the Principal Toyota Memphis Studio. You're listening to Starnes Country on K-Wham.
It's John and Kristen filling in for Todd. You know, Cassie, I fumbled the clock a little bit on that last segment, but we'll fix it in editing, right? What do you mean this is live? Oh, nobody told me this is live. John usually does not do live, but we're putting him on the spot this morning.
And we actually got some callers in that are kind of putting us on the spot this morning.
So we have one. Yeah, on our Patriot Mobile newsmaker line. Mike, thank you for sticking around. We are working through a number of callers. We've got a few more.
But, Mike, what is on your mind this morning? Greetings. You asked about anybody that disagreed with the National Guard, and I'll say yes. Um The root causes of crime in Memphis are all linked to the government, including the reputation of the government. of fathers with the government welfare system check which can't train discipline or protect the kids from the gangs which are extorting them and committing these programs.
Number two, government-controlled public school teachers diagnosing children and forcing them onto SSR drugs which have homicidal tendencies as a listed side effect. And number three, rap music, believe it or not, which is funded by the government, is brainwashing kids into the thug lifestyle and it's supporting this whole system. You're not going to find the solutions in the national. Right. Well, Mike, I d I did want to ask you, though, that so what are your thoughts on the on the revolving uh court system?
I I know you uh in the past you've mentioned that. Do you think that's Part of it, do you worry that the National Guard may not have an impact on that? Unless they go in there and arrest the judges that are making backdoor deals with the attorneys that are paying them off. You don't see a guy charged with murder getting a low bond unless there's something going on because. The mash of Look at a judge.
We need to have a rating system. How much of a bond does a judge give to each individual? The DA doesn't issue the bond. The judge is a good deal. Right, well, Mike, I think you bring up a great point, and it's one I'm glad.
And Chris and I were talking about off the air, and we wanted to get on this because this is not the first time, and Mike, thank you for calling, that this has been brought up.
Some people have come up to me and say, okay, the National Guard comes, all these agencies come, and then they leave. And then, okay, so crime went down, kumbaya, it's great. Then they leave, and it all comes back. There is something a lot of people are missing. Underneath all this, the most important long-term thing that's going to happen.
Is, and let's be honest, the most violent and most deadly is not a huge percentage. They're not held accountable, they're put back on the streets to hurt people. The goal with all of this is to put federal charges on these folks, to circumvent R D A, just to be quite frank about it, get into the federal system, and when they get federal time, There's no parole. And at minimum, they're going to do 80%. And so that is the driving goal.
So once they leave, some of the worst of the worst will be gone. They will not be back if ever. And that is so important for the city and county to catch its breath. And get caught up. And they won't have those repeat violent offenders that are hurting people.
So that is the long-term solution. Right. And Mike is not wrong. I mean, we do have very systemic problems in our culture where we do have fatherless homes. We do have kids who are exposed way too early to sexual themes in their rap music and what they see on TV and what they're being exposed to in their life.
And we also have a pharmaceutical dependency and we have a lot of mental illness.
Now, those are long-term fixes. Yes. But we need some short-term fixes. Triage. You need triage.
If there's a group of, and this is strange, it's people jumping off a cliff. We need to go up there and figure out and stop that. But there are still people at the bottom of that cliff who are broken and and and need immediate medical attention. And that and that's what we're this Surgeon. Is Memphis needs immediate attention and we can only In the short term, focus on what we can focus on.
And you're right, Kristen. And we can have those conversations and we can talk about those solutions. But right now, you can't you've got to get rid of the noise. That's right. You've got to bring it down.
And as Brent Taylor said, bring it down to a level Because we're way too short in officers, but bring it down where it's controllable. Because right now it's out of control. That's right. And uh so you know I I appreciate that uh That's That argument that I hear from people to me is the only truly legitimate one I've heard that said, okay, they only come here for a short time, then they're gone. But the more you understand it, realize built into this, baked into it is a solution to that particular.
Problem. And Haggerty actually commented on that, and he was talking about that they've rested 500 games. Gang members, and we're talking about kingpin guys. We're talking about guys who are at the head, who are trying to cut off the head of the snake.
So they've arrested them, but they're not going to jail here in Memphis. They were being sent to federal prison.
So that gives me a lot of hope. That this they're not going to just come back, they're not just going to get RRR'd, they're not just going to be able to get it.
Well, it compounds to let's say you're in a neighborhood and there's somebody who is really violent or you're intimidated and scared. Are you going to call the police? Are you going to testify? Let them know because you know they'll be back. But if you start to see these worst of the worst are gone.
Not coming back, then what is a citizen?
Now you feel safe.
Now I'll testify.
Now I'll call, you know, because. They felt unprotected at there's so many of the people in our community, but now if you see real accountability, like, hey, If I stand up. It will have an impact, and I don't have to worry about being shot or my family hurt a month from now when they get taken out of jail. That's right, and we got to make examples out of the people at the top. Exactly.
You've got to get, you've got to rain down. Fire on those people so that the people at the bottom will say, okay.
Well Exactly right. And well speaking of raining down fire, we had a clip from Stephen Miller. Cassie, you got that ready to roll? Yes, ma'am. Oh, he'd go ahead and play that.
This should uh this should get you fired up. To the Memphis Police Department, to the officers that I see sitting in front of me, we are about to provide you with a level of support You cannot even imagine. This isn't just a task force. This is a all-of-government unlimited support operation. ATF, DEA, FEI.
Ice Department of War every resource we have. And they're not going to be sitting Behind a desk. Add a keyboard. We are sending in Real cops with guns and badges to go out with you on the street every single night making arrests. These are people who have taken down drugs.
Well Kingpin's the worst criminal offenders in the United States. standing with you shoulder to shoulder to shoulder. All we ask from you is to show up at roll call every single night. With your brothers and sisters in the federal government, and to go out and get the criminals off the street. And if you do that, I pledge to you.
We will liberate this city from the criminal element that has plagued it for generations. This is not just a strategy shift. This is an attitude shift. We are not going to live in an environment anywhere. where there is a street that belongs to a criminal.
where there is a neighborhood that belongs to a gang. where there is any physical space anywhere that belongs to anyone other than the law-abiding citizens and families of Memphis. The idea that there is a square inch of block in this city where a citizen doesn't feel safe is unacceptable. This is Memphis. This is the United States of America.
And all that bullshit is done. It's over. It's finished. Holy crap, if you're not fired up after that. If you're not a fan of his, I mean, my goodness, he comes in and he just says it mince words.
I mean, he is just telling you exactly how it is, and you know who he's speaking to. He's speaking to anybody that wants to try to challenge them. That's right, that's right. And but as a police officer, now I'm not on the streets anymore in my position that I do, man. I was ready to go hop in a squad car and get to work.
I'm ready to sign up. Actually, I told Lisa Arnold I need to do like a I just need to hang out with her and do some of her runs when she's trying to catch these criminals on their bonds. But but I will say this. Is our command staff, because I've been hearing rumors, is our command staff Lock step with Stephen Miller.
Well, you know, I don't know. I've seen some things floating out there. I certainly hope so. I certainly hope so because what he was talking about. Was taking the handcuffs off police and putting them on the criminals and getting out there and being proactive and taking it to the streets and doing it for Miss Cook, who we heard in the first place.
That's who you're doing it for. That's who you're doing it for. Never forget, that's who you're doing it for. And if you put that in your heart, You will never go wrong.
Well, I love that they're unhandcuffing the cops because they felt like that they can't do a whole lot because then they're the ones who are in trouble. How many times have you seen a video on TikTok where they are claiming that the cop has abused his position. You know how it is now. If an officer does their job, They're immediately, the media is ready to make them the bad guy. It seems like the DA's first inclination is, what did the officer do wrong?
And that that is not how the majority feel and those loudest radical voices, they do that. That beats the officers down. They're out there fighting for the miss hooks of this world. And what did they hear back? All this negativity.
You're the bad guy. No wonder we can't keep them. You know, no wonder nobody wants to go into this honor, and it is an honorable profession, and I will not listen to anybody say it's not. It is one of the most honorable you can do to go out there and protect your fellow citizens. And so Anyway, I'm off fire.
Well, I know, and I get that. And we need more officers. We need them to want to step up. They do it for a minimal amount of pay. They do.
So they do it out of the love of their hearts and their love of their country. And that's the other thing, after they're gone, we have to get our numbers back up. To where we were in 2011, where we had the lowest major violent crime. We're 400 officers now. We have to commit to that.
So, one is getting these, the worst of the worst during federal time. Ultimately, local issues have to be solved by local communities, and we have got to all get together and get our department rebuilt. And get out there and protect these citizens. And that's why I hope that the rumors that the command staff. There are rumors that they are not in lockstep because they do not want the National Guard here.
I hope that they get. On board, if they're not already on board, I hope that's just a rumor, but it's time. The citizens demand it.
So, you, as citizens, demand that from your leadership. Get on board. And, you know, and I'm counting on that happening. We've got to be on the same page. To do this.
And by the way, I just got a little note from somebody from the PIO's office. There's a hiring expo. This Saturday for officers.
So get on that. Go to the Memphis page, the Memphis Police Department page. Hey. Don't complain. Come be part of the solution.
We need you. Trust me. We can't have enough folks. No, we really can't. And so I'm really glad that people are starting to step up.
And I'm glad that we're getting support. There's nothing better than having somebody say, I trust your judgment. I believe that you are The professional to come out there and not second guess every single decision that you make as an officer. Thank you. And that's the world we live in because there was a time where officers, you made decisions based upon what was in front of you.
And you have to make split-second decisions oftentimes. You're not perfect. You're not perfect. And if you made a mistake based, but it was based on the information, you made the best decision based on the information you had at the time, well, that's okay. But now it's based on the outcome.
You know, let's say you're chasing the bad guy and they have done some really horrible stuff and then they jump the curb and hurt a citizen. Based on what was in front of you, you're trying to protect the community, but based on the outcome, now you're being crucified by the media, crucified by the radicals, and all you were doing was trying to protect and help people.
So, what do you think about Some of the leadership, and like Tammy Sawyer, telling people now you have to get your license. Updated. You have to make sure your tags are updated. You have to make sure you're not speeding. You have to make sure that you don't hold your cell phone in your hand.
Why hasn't that been the message all along? Why is that now just coming out?
Well, you bring up a great point.
So, yeah, you better do this stuff. You know, well, it tells you everything you need to know. Before, what was the brand of the city? Do whatever you want. The rules don't apply.
The rules don't matter. And raising a young daughter, I can't raise her like that because I love her.
So I put rules on her and I hold her to standards. Because if I don't, I don't know how she's going to end up, but I love her. As leaders, you have to love the city and the citizens enough to hold them to standards because that. is how you protect people. It's just frustrating.
It takes that for some leader to come out and say you should follow the rules. Yeah, well, you know, and that's the thing. And they talk about they're holding actually seminars for families and for children and telling them this is how you behave if you are come in contact with a police officer, if you are having to go through a checkpoint. This is the way you need to handle that. That to me is common sense.
Like, I don't think I need somebody to come in and say that you don't need to act like a fool when you're going through a checkpoint. But apparently, they do. But now I feel like the messaging, at least they're at least they're telling people we're not going to act crazy. We're not going to throw our hands out at the police. We're not going to pretend like they are not in charge and you are because this is a matter of cleaning up the city.
It's a matter of getting it under control. And as a citizen, I am going to do the best that I can do to facilitate the ease of going through a checkpoint, the ease of Just making it as easy on me as possible, and that makes it easy on them. Amen, sister. Preach on. Preach on.
Well, if I'm not mistaken, I believe we're up against our next break.
So. This has been great, and we got more to come, so you don't want to miss it.
So stay tuned. We'll be right back. Yeah. Policeman A policeman. is a composite of what all men are, I guess, a mingling of saint and sinner.
Dust and deity. What that really means is that they are exceptional, they are unusual, they are not commonplace. Buried under the froth is the fact, and the fact is that less than one-half of 1% of policemen misfit that uniform. And that is a better average than you'd find among clergymen. What is a policeman?
He of all men is at once the most needed. and the most wanted. A strangely nameless creature who is sir to his face and pig or worse behind his back. He must be such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals so that each will think he won, but. If a policeman is neat, he's conceited.
If he's careless, he's a bum. If he's pleasant, he's a flirt. If he's not, he's a grouch. He must make instant decisions which would require months for a lawyer, but If he hurries, he's careless. If he's deliberate, he's lazy.
He must be first to an accident, infallible with the diagnosis. He must be able to start breathing, stop bleeding, tie splints, and above all, be sure the victim goes home without a limp. The police officer must know every gun, draw on the run and hit where it doesn't hurt. He must be able to whip two men twice his size and half his age without damaging his uniform and without being brutal. If you hit him, he's a coward.
If he hits you, he's a bully. The policeman from a single human hair must be able to describe the crime, the weapon, the criminal, and tell you where the criminal is hiding, but. If he catches the criminal, he's lucky. If he doesn't, he's a dance. He runs files and writes reports until his eyes ache to build a case against some felon who'll get dealed out by a shameless, Seamus.
The policeman must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy, and a gentleman. And of course, he'll have to be a genius because he'll have to feed a family. on a policeman's salary. I don't know how many of you remember Paul Harvey. Uh that's I remember growing up listening to his little commentaries, and I heard that one when I was very young.
Boy, it is still as true today as it was back then. That to me that encapsulates that kind of poignant Aspect, you you don't make you don't become a millionaire doing this job and you just it seems like Half the time, everybody's against you, but they go out there day in and day out and risk it all. The men and women. of this city and all across this nation to protect their their fellow citizens. And unfortunately that the like you said, the few that disrespect that uniform, that's who you're being judged by.
as a police officer.
So they do um really taint. The reputation, and you, as a police officer, who is doing your job every single day, going in, making a difference. Unfortunately, there are going to be a few that taint your reputation, but you can't let that discourage you. You just have to keep going. And that is true, like you said, in a lot of other different professions, that we really, really don't hold them accountable like we seem to hold good police officers accountable for the bad ones.
It's true. And it's a tough job. And I've said over and over, they're not paid enough. You know, we talked about the courts and getting the the r truly worst of the worst and that hard Federal time, getting them out of here. The other part is we've got to rebuild this department and you've got to pay these folks more.
You can have a calling and to do this job and go somewhere where it's not as busy, not as dangerous. And I get that. But to really get back to the 2500 that we really need, To protect the citizens of this city, we've got to make a true investment in it. And I just pray that we do. And it seems that they can always find money for their projects that they want to do, but they can never seem to find money for police.
They can never seem to find money to fill a pothole.
Well, I love it when they tell me, well, budgets are a series of choices. Budgets are a series of priorities. There you go. That is a perfect way to end this segment.
Well, thank you everybody for tuning in. Tune in at 11 for the Titan Stars National Show. But first, Jim Miller is the top local news stories. Thank you so much. We had a great time.
We love you guys. We'll see you soon.
